Tag Archives: Texas Legislature
Loon Star: Gun Crazy
To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here....Read More
Some Small Texas Towns Are Declaring Themselves ‘Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn’
Frustrated with the Legislature, Texas city officials are taking on abortion rights through local policy measures.
When it comes to the Texas Legislature’s actions on abortion restrictions this year, virtually no one is happy. For abortion-rights advocates, it was yet anot...Read More
Senator Lucio Draws Serious Primary Challenge
The Texas Senate’s most conservative Democrat faces two opponents. Is the Valley ready for change?
Democratic state Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. starts choking up over the phone. The 29-year veteran of Texas’ upper chamber is recalling legislation he passed in 2...Read More
Texans Can Finally Buy Beer Directly From Breweries
The Beer-to-Go law went into effect September 1 after a long, protracted legislative battle.
On Sunday, September 1, just in time for Labor Day, breweries across the state toasted to a long-awaited landmark moment: The Beer-to-Go law finally went into e...Read More
Thousands of Rape Kits in Texas Went Untested For Years. Lavinia Masters Is Ending That.
The Lavinia Masters Act, which goes into effect in September, is the culmination of more than ten years of Masters’ advocacy in Texas, where a backlog of about 20,000 untested rape kits was identified in 2011.
Lavinia Masters was 13 years old when a stranger raped her at knifepoint in her Dallas bedroom. For more than two decades, her rape kit—the evidence collected...Read More
They Persisted
An unprecedented number of first-time female candidates ran for office in Texas in 2018—and lost. Now, many of those women are running again.
These candidates are back in the ring to prove that 2018 wasn’t a singular “year of the woman.” by Megan Kimble September 2, 2019 Early on Novembe...Read More
‘Mistakes Were Made’: Greg Abbott’s Non-Denial Denial on Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric
The governor spoke of a “course correction,” but it’s going to take a mighty swerve to steer away from the Texas GOP’s weaponization of viciously anti-immigrant rhetoric.
After a whole week dodging the matter, it took Governor Greg Abbott nearly five painfully long seconds of silent contemplation to conjure up the words “mistak...Read More
The Death of Mobile Polling Places Could Shrink Early Voting in Texas
Thanks to a new state law, rural and elderly voters are among those who could lose their early polling places next election.
The Texas Legislature never seems to pass up a chance to make voting harder, scarier, or more confusing. True to form, Texas was one of several states this year...Read More
Governor Abbott Swaps One Scandal-Scarred Secretary of State for Another
As Texas Workforce Commission chair, Ruth Hughs secretly coordinated with tech lobbyists to rewrite the rules of the gig economy. Now she’s in charge of state elections.
Earlier this year, Governor Greg Abbott ordered his longtime mentee and newly appointed Secretary of State David Whitley to purge the Texas voter rolls of suspe...Read More
